Go Back To Your Roots: Explore A Career In Agriculture Education

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If you can recall Geography lessons from school, you would remember extensively studying India’s Agriculture variety. During History lessons, we learned about how the human race discovered Agriculture and its past patterns. Agriculture, in fact, is nothing less than a fascinating science and it is high time the study of Agriculture is recognized as a separate discipline in schools and colleges. This is particularly important in India, which still calls itself and agrarian nation.

Let us first find out what Agriculture Education is all about? Is it just the study of cultivation of food and natural resources or management of land etc.? In fact, its far more vast than that. Education in Agriculture deals with all methodologies associated with farming food or rearing animals. At higher levels, it includes aspects of horticulture and livestock management too.

In India, there is a need to spread awareness regarding agricultural education as most people associate it with a rural lifestyle and illiteracy. But for a better future of food cultivation, more and more educated youth need to take it up as a career. The agricultural sector is fast transforming into a full-fledged industry! Agricultural education aims at readying the youth for a career in this field.

While awareness drives are taking place across the country to spread knowledge on agricultural education, the government of India celebrates 3rd December as National Agricultural Education Day. This particular day has been chosen as it is the birth anniversary of Dr. Rajendra Prasad – our first president. Bharat Ratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad is one of the first names that comes to mind when one thinks of the Indian independence movement. Dr. Prasad also played an instrumental role in shaping India as a republic. Apart from all this, in 1946, he became the first Indian union minister for agriculture.

On Agricultural Education Day, Indian Council of Agricultural Research or ICAR gets students of various schools and colleges involved in activities that trigger their interest in the science behind agriculture. These students are informed that great career options available in intensive and mechanized farming, research etc. Students are also encouraged towards becoming agri-entrepreneurs.

ICAR is also influencing institutions to introduce educational modules based on agricultural education. These modules would ideally deal with the science and mathematics behind the process of cultivation, skill-sets, facets of technology-aided farming, communication skills, and labor management techniques etc. Proper implementation of the ideas would require students to be trained in classrooms and laboratories as well as in real agricultural locations across the country.

On the occasion of agricultural education day, students are motivated to take up this professional field as it will play a big role in shaping the future of the Indian economy. The government of India is starting to introduce related courses and topics in school and college curriculums so that students begin to grow an interest in the field. Along with ICAR, the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, located in Delhi, is also doing its part to inspire the youth to opt for agricultural education.

Agriculture is the next big thing that can lift the country’s economy. Thus huge awareness drives are in the planning stage and are expected to mold the Indian mentality away from the age-old notion of associating agriculture with backwardness & lack of education. India is a crisscrossed by rivers which make it abound with fertile land. If used to its full capacity, this can become a factor which will boost the economy and establish India as one of the richest countries in natural food resources.